- Is the school strong in LA? Wildlife? Oncology? (we say every school has a strength but I've never heard what UIUC's is?
The Dean's emphasis is on research. That is why you don't hear whether we are LA or SA.
The
history of the deans of the college might also answer the questions you have, it shows the progression of the college over the course of time.
I think you heard about the tracks in the information session.
Here's
the link to the curriculum.
UIUC CVM
research areas
This is what the school is focusing on.(Taken directly from the website with a few observations from me):
Infectious Diseases - They are focusing more on Public health and zoonotic diseases. Dr. Johnson ( she can be found in the faculty biosketches
here)is doing a major project on bird flu, right now.
Ecosystem health - multidisciplinary (multiple departments all over campus collaborate) Envirovet is considered to be in this area along with the zoologic pathology program.
orthopedic biology - I mentioned the horse sized MRI and I'm sure it was mentioned on the tours. I honetly don't know much about orthopedics, but there are links on the research area page and
Reproductive Biology - also multidisciplinary. If you go to the department of
veterinary boisciences section, you will see a picture of Dr. Yao. He's interested sexual differentiation and what triggers it. He found a gene that regulates epididymal growth. or Dr. Hofmann. She's doing stem cell research on spermatagonium.
Toxicology - The school is very invested in toxicology. It has to do with the close relationship with the poison control center and the cross over research in reproduction. You can find more information in the department of veterinary biosciences site.
Oncology - There are award winners in neoplasm investigation as well. There was a news release about osteosarcoma somewhere in the news section of the home page.
Also starting research in:
stem cell and regenerative biology - see Dr. Hofmann above.
host-microbe interaction
and environmental sustainability
As far as large or small animal: There are more instructors in the SA side, but the associate dean for academic and student affairs is an equine guy. Which doesn't answer the question. I know. I can only speak of my experience. I was in the LA track (with a decided reproduction slant
) for undergrad, and we were constantly getting new, cutting edge information. We had classes where we went out to the various facilities. I have personally been to the dairy, the standardbred stud, the beef cattle/sheep facility (Shout out to Mr. Cobb.), the poultry farm, and the swine farm.
- I know the school does not have an in-house cardiologist or neurologist, is this a detriment to the curriculum, rotations? Would this make UIUC a bad choice for someone who might want to pursue SA specialty?
As far as cardiology is concerned. Illinois does not have an
internship or residency in cardiology. There are 3 courses in both cardiology and neurology with one rotation for each( cardiology rotation is off of campus).
I think it depends on the specialty of interest. We are strong in oncology, opthamology,and dermatology. Reproduction and toxicology have their foothold in several departments. Please, see the internships and residencies page for more.
- What is its reputation or how do you see the school in comparison to other schools?
I have been to four symposia, and the UIUC contingent is usually one of the largest ones. We're talking top three every year. I haven't heard anything good or bad about the school, but I was from Illinois, and everyone knew it. I have noticed that there seemed to be a more intense atmosphere at other places I have visited. I go by awards, honors, and papers I can find on pubmed, and I don't have any complaints. However, I am interested in toxicology and reproductive biology.
- What is the school community like? Professors approachable, students friendly, competitive?
I have never heard anything about competitiveness inside CVM. I've only heard about teamwork and helping each other through exams, and this has been year after year of talking to people. I can't speak on the professors at CVM, though all of the dealings I've had with them ( looking for work, asking about their research, and the like) has been positive.
It's the midwest. We're a nice, polite, easy going lot. We'll help you out if you look like you need help. We'll talk to you on the street. If you look hungry, we'll feed you. We will wave at you as you pass by, even if we don't know you. However, we're the type of people that will not tell you if you have something in your teeth, unless we know you for a while. That's how we were raised.
We have theatre troupes, concerts, movie theatres. If we're not, we should be the eat out capitol of the united states, because we have all sorts of sit down, carry out, and fast food places. We have Strawberry Fields (They have really good vegan sandwiches at the cafe) for whole and organic foods. We have a dog park in the east( working on another one in the west). There is an active running community here. A lot of people ride their bikes to work and class all year round.
Are there aspects of the community that you want to know about? I've been here for over 14 years, but I'm not a townie yet.
